Classic Horror Trailer #2

So yesterday we began our monthlong retrospective of classic horror trailers (hey, Halloween IS, well, at least my second favorite holiday) with the big kahuna, Dracula. Today we follow up the same way Universal did, with Karloff as the monster of Frankenstein.



What's that? It's Friday and you'd like a little bonus? Ok, I think we can do that... How about a look at the earliest version of this little story? Made in 1910 by the (Thomas) Edison studios, this film is a tour-de-force of early special effects work, especially in the creation of the creature. It may seem a bit slow at first (hey, the whole thing is less than 13 minutes, how slow can it be?) but once the mad doctor closes his alchemical cabinet it's literally "Katy bar the door" as the creature begins coming together. But, hey, don't take my word for it. Click play and see for yourself:



Tomorrow: Things get hairy...

It's not easy being a Hornet...

So Splash News has provided us with our first look at Seth Rogen in costume in his role as the Green Hornet. Obviously Seth has really trimmed down for the role and is looking pretty good in the mask. This is one that I have high hopes for, as so far from all reports they seem to be taking the right tone for the movie but I fear it could fall extremely flat if they're not careful with the comedy/action balance. Of course, the real key is not so much the action scenes (after all, we know Hollywood can shoot those with their eyes closed) but how well Rogen can pull off the role of "debonair publisher Britt Reid". I guess we'll just have to wait for those first few previews to see...

Be sure to check out the link above for more pics from the shoot and some explosive video...

Vonnegutsy...

Ok, this was originally posted around the time of his death, but it bears repeating - courtesy of the Onion AV Club, 15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will

4. "There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."

This line from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater comes as part of a baptismal speech the protagonist says he's planning for his neighbors' twins: "Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind." It's an odd speech to make over a couple of infants, but it's playful, sweet, yet keenly precise in its summation of everything a new addition to the planet should need to know. By narrowing down all his advice for the future down to a few simple words, Vonnegut emphasizes what's most important in life. At the same time, he lets his frustration with all the people who obviously don't get it leak through just a little.

...

13. "So it goes."

Unlike many of these quotes, the repeated refrain from Vonnegut's classic Slaughterhouse-Five isn't notable for its unique wording so much as for how much emotion—and dismissal of emotion—it packs into three simple, world-weary words that simultaneously accept and dismiss everything. There's a reason this quote graced practically every elegy written for Vonnegut over the past two weeks (yes, including ours): It neatly encompasses a whole way of life. More crudely put: "Shit happens, and it's awful, but it's also okay. We deal with it because we have to."

read the entire list here...

Now that's what I Call (F)art

from the BBC:

Chinese artist Chen Wenling critiques the global financial crisis in What You See Might Not Be Real, on display at a Beijing gallery. The bull is said to represent Wall Street, while the man pinned to the wall represents jailed financier Bernard Madoff.

And as best I can tell, the column of smoke represents the financial analysts, most of whom seem to be talking out their...

Classic Horror Trailer #1

Hey! it's the first of October... and time for our Classic Horror Trailer feature. Somewhat self-explanatorially, each day this month, until we get to Halloween, I'm gonna be featuring a trailer from a classic horror flick. Today, we start with the granddaddy of them all, the original 1931 Universal classic, Dracula.



And, as a special pre-halloween treat, for those of you who have never seen the entire film, or for those that just want to revisit it, here you go... the movie is in eight parts which should play one after the other in the window below:

Don'tcha just wish...

...somebody would try this with the likes of Bill O'Reilly just to see how he'd react?

(Oh, and score yourself 10 bonus points for anyone besides John Cleese you can name in this clip. One should be fairly obvious, the other two not so...)



Oh, wait... we already know how he'd react:

(and yes, fair warning, this is both not family friendly and not safe for work... but the same can be said for bill in general, so... still, you have been warned)



for those who may not know what the above remix is taken from, the original footage can be found here...

We're Back!

Finally! Yeah, I know it's been a long time since the last update, but... what can i say? Sometimes life happens...

Anyway, how about we start things off today with a look at the new trailer for the Nightmare on Elm Street remake/reimagining/re-envisioning/re-let's-make-a-lot-of-money-off-the-title-anyway/re-whatever...



Actually, I think there's a lot to like about this trailer. Though it appears we'll be getting a bit more backstory on Freddie than the original movie provided, it doesn't look like it's going to go overboard with it the way that the Halloween remake did with Michael Meyers. Plus it looks to be much more in keeping with the spirit of the original than, say, the Friday the 13th remake. It even appears we're going to get a redux of the original's wall/ceiling crawling sequence. Now let's just see if they dare to retain the geysers of blood.

They Do Say That God Work In Mysterious Ways...

From the Register:

A devout Catholic who popped into church to thank God for a his rescue from a lift was crushed to death by a 860lb stone altar, the Telegraph reports.

Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger explained that Gunther Link, 45, was "a very religious man and had been scared when he was trapped in the lift and had prayed for release".

He continued: "A short while later he was pulled out of the elevator and he went straight to the church to thank God."...

Hahslinger concluded: "He seems to have embraced a stone pillar on which the stone altar was perched and it fell on him, killing him instantly. We have found his fingerprints on the pillar. We are now investigating the case further."

geeks with talent...

a couple of sites...

not a full fledged junkyard today, but here's a couple of sites to check out for a good laugh...

first up, one that proves that wally mart is still where amurrica shops...

secondly, well, lets just say, be glad your dad doesn't talk to you like this... (or, if he does, could you share it with the rest of us like this guy?)(fair warning, this site is NOT family friendly... unless, i suppose, you're part of this guy's family, in which case, you're on your own...)

ok, well...

i'll admit it's rather different than american car ads, but is this australian ad really gonna sell cars?

The Junkyard - A Titanic Treasure-Trove of Traumatically Tempting Tid-Bits Tastefully Tossed Together to Tease and Tantalize Thee!

Some folks call it "linkblogging", we just call it "The Junkyard"... What is it? Basically an every-once-in-a-while collection of those items I've run across that don't necessarily need a full write-up or maybe just little bits that I find amusing or quirky or.... Anyway, just follow the links in each item for more info... You get the idea... anyway, enough preamble, on with the show...

ITEM! If you think, like i do, that ice cream is one of God's true gifts to mankind, you might want to try Immaculate Confection...

ITEM! Two questions come to mind when reading about the government's new Cash for Clunker Refrigerators program... One, how many miles per gallon does the average refrigerator get, and two, do you figure Indiana Jones is gonna try to trade in his magic fridge?

ITEM! You mean kitties aren't going to be part of the rapture? Then I'm not sure I want to go...

ITEM! I always knew there was a reason it was called the "stimulus" package...

ITEM! Not surprising, I suppose, but here ya go... more not-really-a-change you can believe in...

ITEM! Also, perhaps someone should use some stimulus money to buy Mr. Obama a dictionary so he can look up the definition of the word "transparancy"...

ITEM! Could we please have a little less nannny state? I mean, c'mon... everyone knows you can't pull a proper pint into plastic...

ITEM! What does it cost to lie on top of Marilyn Monroe? Apparently 4.6 million dollars...

ITEM! Apparently some people will NEVER get it...

ITEM! It appears John McCain is still reaping what he's been sowing...

ITEM! Please, no... just... no... or in other words, "f@C# me gently with a chain saw"...

ITEM! It seems it only took six Thursday robberies for New Jersey police to notice a pattern...

ITEM! Remember the gang rape scene in Bye-Bye Birdie?... yeah, well, neither did I, but apparently it doesn't matter since it's gone now...

ITEM! I can't help but wonder - if the lesson plans are falling through, can this new teacher rely on a "clips show" to get him through?

LAST ITEM! Finally, for all of you Nessie believers out there, Google Earth fianlly has your proof...

I'd like to meet his trailer...

Here it is... the first trailer for the Benicio del Toro / Anthony Hopkins remake of Universal's The Wolfman:

Christmas in August?

Well, unfortunately no, but... perhaps realising that the wait through the next five months until the next special is gonna be a long one, the BBC is apparently trying to whet our appetites with a new three hour-long special called Dr. Who's Greatest Moments... The hour-long special will be broadcast over three nights in one hour segments beginning tonight... Unfortunately, the focus is solely on the revived program and will not include any segments from earlier incarnations of the show... Still, it appears to have new interviews with the stars and should at least be an entertaining way to pass an hour... No word on when it will officially air in the U.S., but...

Here's a preview:

Speaking of Mrs. Ain'tBehaving...

Or is that Mrs. AintAQuitter? I dunno anymore... and apparently neither does she... Yep, we're talking Sarah Palin again... (hey, i'd stop if she would... matter of fact, I'm willing to make a deal... if she doesn't say anything else stoopid, I won't make fun of her saying stoopid things anymore... how's that?)

Anyway, much has been made of Ms. Palin's "death panel" remark a couple of weeks back, but what has largely been ignored (as DailyKos points out) is that just a year ago Ms. Palin was IN FAVOR of the establishment of exactly the same kind of death panels... to the point of declaring April 16th, 2008 Healthcare Decisions Day... OY...

From the declaration:

WHEREAS, Healthcare Decisions Day is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for healthcare decisions, related to end of life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions. WHEREAS, in Alaska, Alaska Statute 13.52 provides the specifics of the advance directives law and offers a model form for patient use.

WHEREAS, it is likely that a significant reason for these low percentages is that there is both a lack of knowledge and considerable confusion in the public about Advance Directives.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the state of Alaska, do hereby proclaim April 16, 2008, as: Healthcare Decisions Day in Alaska, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

Hmmm... sound at all familiar? Probably not to Ms. Palin...

(Of course, a large part of the irony in this post is based on the concept that Ms. Palin actually read and was able to comprehend what she was signing when she was governor... a large assumption, I know, but I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt here...)

Ain't MrsBehaving either...

Ok, back from boston (had a great time, thankeeverymuch) and trying to catch up with what's going on in the "real" world... Fotunately most everybody's been behaving, so it's been rather slow... everybody except this guy:

Still Kickin' Him Around...

One of the things that we missed recently was the anniversary of the resignation of President Richard Nixon which occurred 35 years ago yesterday... In looking for footage of the resignation, one of the things that I ran across was the short piece embedded below which actually shows outtake footage of Mr Nixon preparing for the speech, and in a lot of ways is an interesting insight into the man as he prepares for what one would think must have been one of the most traumatic moments of his life...



And below is fotage of the actual speech...



Hmmm... one thing I can't help but wonder is how Mr. Nixon's claim not to be a quitter as he is resigning can come across as so much more thoughtful and honest than Sarah Palin's similar claim during her resignation... maybe it has something to do with the fact that he was able to do it without resorting to refernces to chachacos and sourdoughs or pining for the fjords or whatever the hell she was talking about...

Yeah, I Know It's August and Not June, But...

I'll let Mark Evanier break the news...

That's a photo of Bill Scott, who was the voice of Bullwinkle and the producer of his show, and June Foray, who was the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel. This photo did not make the cut and is not found in June's newly-released autobiography, Did You Grow Up With Me, Too?

But dozens of other great photos did. They illustrate the wonderful anecdotes and the delightful tale of how this tiny lady with the big voice became the First Lady of Cartoon Voices...and by the way, she's also been heard in hundreds and hundreds of non-animated movies and TV shows and commercials, and she founded the L.A. branch of ASIFA and she was on the Board of Governors of the Motion Picture Academy and she's just an amazing woman.

The book made its debut at the Comic-Con in San Diego, where the line of June's fans backed up to Frostbite Falls. Not everyone had a chance to purchase one with her autograph so we've decided to make that possible. We've set up www.juneforay.com where you can go — right this minute, even — and order your every own copy, signed by June...and she'll even autograph it to you.

Earl Kress and I helped her write it, and our pal Leonard Maltin contributed the foreword. But never mind us. Get one because it's June Foray. That's reason enough right there.

Once again, that's www.juneforay.com. Your one-stop destination for copies of June Foray's autobiography signed by June Foray.

Iron Man, Iron Man, Does Whatever an Iron Can...

So one of the most talked about clips from San Diego has finally hit the web... and will probably be pulled soon, so I suggsest ya watch it while ya can... it's the five minute clip that Jon Favreau showed from Iron Man 2... Yep, its your first chance to see Scarlett Johanson as the Black Widow, Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, and Don Cheadle as War Machine, plus some returning favorites... Yeah the quality isn't that great, but hey... here it is anyway...

Iron Man2 trailer
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Quote of the Week... so far...

First off, sorry for the lack of posts recently... along with life's usual traumas, been working to help the gf get ready to move to Boston... and there will probably not be many updates for the next week or so, as I'll be out of town from the 12th through the 18th... of course, that just means that much more to enjoy when I get back...

Anyway...

"It's ironic... paddlin' now is inhumane, but druggin' a kid is the way to go..."

-Rep Jack Kingston, (R) Georgia on Real Time with Bill Maher this past week sums up one of the main problems with parents and children today...